Health Students appeal for review of allowances

Accra, Oct. 11, GNA - The National Health Students Association Ghana (NAHSAG), on Tuesday appealed to the Government to review students' allowances for health trainees upward to reflect the current cost of living.

In addition, all arrears owed the nurses from 2008 up to date should be paid.

The appeal was made in a statement issued in Accra by Mr Ebenezer Adade, President of the Association.

It called on the Nurses and Midwives Council (NMC) to take the necessary steps to ensure certificates awarded at the end of their training really reflected the Diploma status of the programme. They appealed to officials of the Ministry of Health (MOH) to refrain from using abusive and inflammatory language in the media against nurses who genuinely protested against unfair treatment meted out to them. The statement said the Diploma Nursing Programme was a three-year course and not a four-year programme as clearly stated in the admission letters given out to new entrants. It explained that it was wrong to assume that the year-long "rotation" period formed part of the basic training of a nurse. "In fact, to undertake a year-long rotation period, the nurse trainee has passed the Final Qualifying Licensure Examination conducted by the Nurses and Midwives Council (NMC); an examination that has both theory and practical components," the statement added. The Association noted that the 93rotational" period should never be mistaken to be practical component of the nurses training, adding, "It is against this backdrop that we find it difficult to comprehend why until now, nurses who have graduated since 2009 till date have not been paid their salaries".

It said these nurses had been surviving on a meagre GHC47 allowance per month, from which they were supposed to pay rent, utilities, feed and in most cases use as transport and travelling allowance to work.

The statement said there was an attempt to pay the 2010 (D10) batch of nurses National Service allowance instead of their salaries as professional nurses.

It noted that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the National Service Secretariat (NSS) that enjoined all health students to undertake National Service took effect from 2011.

"Therefore, it is unacceptable for the 2010 batch of nurses who had never registered with the NSS to be paid allowances instead of their salaries." On their certificates, the Association said even though, the Diploma programme for nursing had been in existence for the past 13 years, certificate issued at the end of their training did not reflect on their qualification and had made academic progression difficult. In addition, the GHC47 student allowance to health trainees was woefully inadequate considering the expensive medical books and other learning aid they had procure. "The trainee has to take care of his/her feeding and other expenditure when on clinical attachment," the statement added. 11 Oct. 11